Chapter One An Unexpected Encounter
by Una Honeydew
Summary: The first chapter of the story chronicling the story of the Lily/Severus/James love triangle. Please say if you notice any mistakes! Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: These characters belong to J. K. Rowling and her alone. None of them are mine. **

Chapter One – An Unexpected Encounter

The castle grounds that were so often bathed in sunlight were muted to an inoffensive shade of grey by the dense fog. A low-lying silver mist clung to every available surface, including her skin, making it damp with dew. The silence was stifling, the muffled nothingness pressing against her ears until all she could hear was the quickened beat of her heart. _He should be here_, she thought, staring earnestly into the fog, searching for signs of the lake or the edge of the Forbidden Forest that she knew must lie beyond. Then slowly, a shape began to form in the mist, getting larger as with each step. A head began to form, and then a body. Lily's heart skipped a beat, _it's him. He came after all._ However, it wasn't until the figure stopped a few feet from her that Lily realised she'd made a mistake.

She considered running but dismissed it when she saw he held his wand at the ready. No-one, no matter how fast, could outrun a spell. Her second option was to scream, but she doubted anyone would hear a sound. Her cries for help would be swallowed whole by the claustrophobic mist that still surrounded her. She thought then of her friends, imagining them enjoying a game of wizard chess or perhaps complaining about the amount of homework they still had to do. She cursed herself silently for not telling them where she had gone.br

"Lily?" The voice sounded small and cautious and she couldn't decide whether it was the fog or damp air that made it so. The figure moved a littler closer and then stopped, his wand held threateningly in front of him. Lily reached behind her and searched for her own wand, hidden deep in the pocket of her robes.

"Lily?" The voice was more urgent now, impatient. The figure moved a step closer. Lily carefully removed her wand from her pocket and held it by her side, hoping the dense fog would hide her actions.

Then, suddenly the figure jerked his wand upwards and shouted "Lumos!"

A powerful, electric-white light ripped through the fog, blinding her momentarily. She turned away quickly, her eyes stinging from the sudden light. Whilst waiting for her eyes to adjust, she listened until she heard the hurried footsteps of the figure drawing closer.

Panicking, Lily spun in the direction of the sound, waving her wand vaguely at the fog.

"Expelliarmus!" she cried, as a flash of red light shot from her wand, swallowed a moment later by the fog. She heard a surprised yelp, before a wand came hurtling past, narrowly missing her left ear. Running head long back the way she'd come, the stranger's footsteps close behind, Lily searched the sodden ground for the disarmed wand. Feeling around in the fog, she finally saw it resting a little distance away in large bush of decaying dittany. Reaching for it, she turned wildly around to face her pursuer, a wand in each hand. She could hear him skidding to a halt just out of her range of sight.

"I know you're there," she cried hysteria rising in her voice. She had run in no particular direction and it was only now that she realised she didn't know where she was. She turned this way and that trying to get her bearings, but it was impossible. She was lost.

"Give me my wand." The voice came again, more forceful than before.

"No." Lily answered bluntly, still trying to find an escape route.

"Please." The voice murmured quietly. Lily, caught by surprise stopped searching and turned to look into the mist, where she knew her pursuer must be waiting. She squinted into the fog whilst reassessing her options. _After all,_ she mused, _attackers don't say please._

Cautiously, a figure moved towards her, the fog thinning until Lily could make out the all-to-familiar lanky frame, greasy hair and sunken eyes.

"Please, Lily."

"Severus." Lily breathed, aware that her eyes were wet from suppressed relief. The boy simply nodded sharply in acknowledgement. Lily stared at him for a long moment before handing back his wand.

"Thank you." He murmured grudgingly, snatching his wand and jamming it hurriedly into his green-trimmed robes. Lily stood disbelievingly, watching as he curled and uncurled his pale hands in angry fists. She still held her wand defensively in front of her.

A long, awkward silence stretched between them, only broken by a long howl that echoed from the forest, hidden in the mist.

The boy remained silent, his eyes trained resolutely on the dew-flecked grass at his feet. Lily broke the silence first.

"What the hell were you doing?" The question erupted out of her before she could stop it. She glared at the boy expectantly; her grip on her wand tightening till her knuckles also flushed white.

"I don't have to tell you anything." He replied menacingly, still feigning interest in the sodden ground.

"I think you do!" Lily cried, motioning forcefully with her wand. "What on earth was so important that you have to go wandering off in the Forest and-"

"I do not have to tell you_ anything_!" The boy interrupted loudly his livid black eyes burning into Lily's, his entire body shaking with the force of trying to contain his anger. Lily, stunned into silence could only watch as the boy turned suddenly on his heel and walked fuming back the way he'd come, his lean figure disappearing into the receding fog.

By the time Lily returned to the Gryffindor common room, the light was fading and the dense fog had disappeared leaving a clear, crisp evening. A large bruise full of oranges and pinks was blossoming on the horizon heralding an imminent and glorious sunset. Settling herself in an empty armchair by the dying fire, Lily searched for the answers to the questions posed by her unexpected encounter.

"Hey Lils, you coming?" Lily looked up to see a blonde haired girl with amethyst eyes, standing over her looking puzzled. She was motioning towards the entrance to the girl's dormitory and when Lily looked out the window she saw the dark indigo of the coming night.

"Umm….no it's alright Jen, I'll be up later." Lily replied, careful to sound cheery despite the chill that was spreading through her. She watched her friends ascend the stairs to the dormitories without her, laughing heartily over something Jennifer has said. Lily remained seated, staring into the remains of the fire, the warm embers casting a dull, warm glow on her face. She shivered and wrapped her robes tighter around her shoulders. Looking unseeing into the fire, she let her mind wander back to the events of earlier and the disturbing questions they now posed. _I know Severus loves his secrets, but what could make him so desperate as to seek solace in the Forbidden Forest? Is it dangerous? Is it illegal?_

After several hours considering all possible reasons behind Severus's personal evening excursion, Lily stood, stretched and then picked a route round the maze of empty armchairs to the stairs leading to the dorms. Her hand on the cold stone doorway, Lily turned surveying the familiar gloom of the Gryffindor common room before going to bed. Her eyes wandered from the burnt-out fire and the piles of greying ash in the grate, across to the large windows with their heavy velvet curtains, only to rest on the large, worn oak table piled high with spell-books and revision guides. It was only then that she noticed the small piece of folded parchment, illuminated eerily in a stray beam of moonlight.

Crossing the room quickly, Lily unfolded the parchment, ripping it slightly in her haste. Her heart thumped excitedly in her chest as she read it.

_Lils, _

_Sorry for not meeting you tonight at the usual place. _

_I had to stay with Remus; he's going through a bad patch at the moment and needed my moral support. _

_Hope to catch up with you in potions tomorrow, _

_Yours passionately, _

_James _

Lily read it again, a smile spreading across her face. She stuffed it haphazardly into her robes, intending to show it to Jennifer tomorrow who would without doubt relish reading every word. Dodging through the chairs, with new-found vigour, Lily bounded the stairs two at a time until she reached the door to her dorm. Several large snores issued from the room beyond. Laughing slightly Lily carefully slipped inside, closing the door silently behind her. _Severus and his disturbed mind can wait till tomorrow, _she thought irritably as she climbed into bed, pushing the plush covers closer around her. Before she blew out the candle, Lily delved into the pocket of her robes, now piled artfully on the floor and retrieved James's crumpled note. After reading it through several times, Lily leaned over and carefully blew out the candle, welcoming the warm blanket of complete darkness that followed.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two :

**Disclaimer: These characters belong to J. K. Rowling and her alone. None of them are mine. **

Chapter Two : Problems & Potions

Lying painfully on the cold stone floor, Lily tucked herself protectively into a ball, her eyes clamped tight shut. The moist air was unbearably cold, the harsh wind biting at her hair and robes, whipping them into a frenzy. Her lip was bleeding badly, dripping onto her shirt, the heady stench of iron strong in her nostrils. Terrified she half-opened her eyes and glanced cautiously through her lashes into the darkness. As she did so it seemed to move, a voiceless shadow shifting against the black interior of the cave. Shaking uncontrollably, Lily reached a tentative hand into the dark, waiting for the touch of his skin beneath her fingers. The cold, damp feel of his face startled her and she hesitated, considering pulling back. _But I have to know_, she reasoned. _I need to know._ Lily moved a cautious finger along his cheekbone, admiring his jaunty bone structure and smooth skin as she did so. Sitting up, no longer afraid she traced the contours of his lips with her thumb, staring wide-eyed into the darkness.

"Severus" she whispered softly, her breath catching in her throat. Then without warning, a streak of dazzling blue light exploded in the cave and Lily found herself falling unwillingly into perpetual darkness.

Lily woke with a start, her hair plastered to her forehead with sweat. Breathing heavily she searched the half-darkness of the dorm for the figure, unaware she had woken. Once satisfied that she was alone, she lay back on the pillows and closed her eyes. It wasn't long before she drifted into a long and deep sleep, the dream forgotten.

Lily woke late the next morning, the bright summer sun streaming through the window, painting the dorm in a warm golden glow. Rubbing her eyes sleepily she turned over to lie on her front, burying her face in the pillow.

"Oh, I don't think so," said a voice from behind her. This was quickly followed by several sharp tugs to the back of her pyjamas. With a loud groan Lily turned over to see the blonde haired Jennifer lounging lazily at the end of her bed, an amused smile playing at the corners of her mouth. Suddenly serious she continued "You'd better get up, breakfast's nearly over."

"What?" Lily jumped out of bed, tripping over her robes still piled on the floor in her haste. "What time is it?"

"Almost eight." Jennifer stated indifferently, stepping quickly out of the way as Lily lunged for her trunk.

"What? That can't be right." Lily replied breathlessly whilst trying to button her shirt, only to realise she'd missed a whole and had to start over.

"Winnie's Wizard Watches never lie." Jennifer quoted simply, twisting her wrist so Lily could see the time

"Why didn't you wake me sooner?" Lily cried hysterically, now struggling to put on a pair of black woollen tights. When Jennifer didn't answer Lily stopped fighting with her tights and looked up. Jennifer stood with her back to her, gazing out the window, so Lily couldn't see her face. However, the badly disguised worry in her voice gave her away.

"You were talking in your sleep again." She mumbled. "Well, shouting actually." Lily froze, her too-small tights forgotten.

"What did I say?"

"Nothing intelligible. Although…" she paused, obviously considering whether it would be safe to continue.

"Although?" Lily pressed, sitting on the end of a bed, her troublesome tights crumpled beside her.

"Although you did say _his_ name." Jennifer replied warily, her back still turned. Lily sighed heavily, returning to her tights._ Brilliant,_ she thought sarcastically, _now my best friend thinks I'm in love with…….him._

By the time Lily and Jennifer made it into the Great Hall only a few people still lingered, reading the new The Daily Prophet over a glass of pumpkin juice. Lily almost ran to the Gryffindor table, stacking her plate hurriedly with cold toast. Jennifer slowly sauntered down the aisle in-between the tables before lowering herself gracefully into the seat beside Lily.

"So were you going to tell me about the note or were you planning to keep it to yourself?" Jennifer's harshness startled Lily, making her choke on her mouthful of toast.

"I…was" Lily mumbled through mouthfuls, "But…you were….sleeping….when I got….back."

"Well?" Jennifer stared excitedly at Lily, impatient for an answer.

"Well what?" Lily answered oblivious, buttering another slice of toast.

"Honestly Lily!" She spluttered, sporting a dazzling grin that made her even more beautiful. "But seriously, you know James is like _the_ most popular guy at Hogwarts!"

"Hmm….but that obviously doesn't make him any less unpleasant." Lily replied harshly, drinking an entire glass of pumpkin juice in one go. "In fact it just makes him more annoying and predictable."

"Yeah but…."Jennifer stared dreamily out the window to the grounds beyond. Lily laughed, wiping the last of the crumbs from her hands. "I mean……wow."

Lily got up, rolling her eyes at Jennifer's obvious obsession with her admirer. _James Potter, _she mused,_ I agree there is a certain ring to it._

"Come on Jenny!" Lily sang sweetly, breaking Jennifer's daydream.

"Don't ever call me that." Jennifer replied irritably as she rose from her seat, following Lily to the entrance hall.

"I bet you wouldn't mind if _he_ called you that." Lily teased, trying to suppress a laugh. When Jennifer didn't answer, Lily turned to find her staring, glassy-eyed into space. Jennifer, woken from her reverie looked unseeing at Lily.

"What'd you say?"

"Nothing." Lily laughed, heading towards the dungeons for potions. Realising she had missed the joke, Jennifer caught her up.

"What's so funny?" She questioned angrily, having realised the joke was at her expense. They were making their way down a dark stairwell now, the door to Professor Slughorn's potions room coming up ahead.

"It was nothing," Lily answered, her laughter subsiding. "Just a stupid Quidditch joke."

"Stupid Quidditch jokes? Who's game?" Lily turned around on her heel so fast she nearly knocked over James who was standing, grinning behind her.

"Whoa there Evans," he chided steadying her arm, smiling broadly.

"Thanks. But there's no need for your awful Knock-knock jokes" Lily retorted sharply, worming out of his grip.

"Aww, but I have a new one It's about a how the balls are different sizes and-"

"Please spare me." Lily replied, joining the line of students waiting outside the potions room.

"Yeah spare her James; she might die accidentally of boredom." The slim figure of a tall, long haired boy appeared behind James. The boy, Sirius winked at Jennifer who blushed a deep shade of scarlet before staring resolutely at the dungeon wall. Lily sighed and followed the others into the gloomy potions room, stopped only momentarily at the threshold by a grinning Slughorn.

"Good morning Miss Evans! How are you faring this fine day?" Professor Slughorn's formalness caused a few people behind Lily to snigger, including James.

"I'm fine, thank you sir." Lily replied sheepishly, taking her seat in front of the teacher's desk, Jennifer instantly beside her.

Professor Slughorn bounded past her to stand, beaming in front of them. Once everyone had settled into their seats, he raised his hand for quiet.

"Right. Now, today we're going to practice producing a Draft of Peace," An audible groan rising for the class. "Don't be like that, its really easy! Besides you need to know it for when you sit your O.W.Ls in a few weeks time….." He continued, unperturbed by the unwillingness of his pupils. After explaining the method and giving advice on preparing ingredients, Slughorn wandered in-between the benches correcting people where they were making mistakes.

"Oi, Evans. Let me borrow your knife." The voice came from behind her, but Lily didn't need to move to know who it was.

"I'm not going to cover up for your incompetence, Potter." Lily hissed angrily whilst carefully weighing some hellebore and then adding it to her cauldron. She heard James mutter something angrily under his breath, and Lily smiled in satisfaction.

Whilst roaming the dungeon for an extra potion ingredient she glanced over to front, left-hand corner of the room where she realised with a start, that Severus's desk was empty. Finding what she was looking for she returned to her desk, taking her seat hurriedly beside Jennifer. Lily sat, the extra ingredient redundant in her hand for a whole minute until Jennifer realised something was up.

"Are you ok?" She asked, stirring her potion with her wand. Lily glanced up, wide-eyed.

"Um….what?"

"I said." Jennifer said, speaking slowly taking care over each word. "Are you ok?"

"Oh, yeah…..I just….." Lily glanced again at the empty desk over the other side of the room, trying to make sure she wasn't hallucinating.

At that moment, James left his potion that had begun to smoke and came to sit on the edge of Lily's desk. He poked his nose over the edge of Lily's cauldron watching the potion bubbling softly.

"Umm….Evans, I just want to…." He said nervously, running a hand through his deliberately windswept hair "that….well…I'm sorry for last night. Like I said Remus….." He stopped, suddenly realising that Lily wasn't listening. "Are you ok?" Regaining her composure Lily dropped the ingredient into her potion and turned to James.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"Yeah, well what I was trying to say was that I'm sorry for last night." James finished eyeing her cautiously from behind his glasses. "Will you forgive me?"

"Only if you remove yourself from my desk." Lily snapped, stirring her potion. James stood in an instant.

"So, I was wondering….maybe we could try to get together soon?" He moved closer, feigning interest in her potion again as Professor Slughorn sidled past.

"Considering you've already stood me up once, after begging me for months to go out with you I'm surprised you're even asking."

"Please, Lily. Just give me a chance." His voice was soft, pleading. Lily wasn't fooled and turned to glower at him with those fierce emerald eyes. Recognising defeat James returned to Sirius who was hurriedly trying to correct their potion, prodding it angrily with his wand.

For the rest of the lesson, Lily tried to ignore the growing feeling of unease that was growing inside her. Time slowed to a crawl. It seemed like an age had passed before Professor Slughorn ordered the class to cork a sample of their draft to be collected and marked. Handing Slughorn her sample, she glanced again at the Severus's empty chair.

"Full Marks, Miss Evans, a magnificent effort." Slughorn cried, beaming at her as he inspected her sample. Lily simply smiled, returning to her workbench. After packing her books hastily back into her bag, she waited fidgeting, for Slughorn to dismiss them.

"Right, has everyone handed me their sample? Yes? Good. You many go!" Slughorn cried, waving to them joyously as they departed from the dungeon. Just as Lily reached the door, she heard Professor Slughorn coming up behind her.

"Miss Evans…I'm having a little party in a few weeks. Got some very senior people from the ministry coming that'd I'd love you to meet. Very influential you know…" Lily simply nodded, desperate to reach the airy Entrance Hall. "Brilliant, I'll send you a formal invitation soon; you know….with all the details. Well, have a nice evening!" But Lily didn't hear him; she was already running down the corridor. Upon reaching the Entrance Hall she ran headlong into a Slytherin called Mulciber.

"Oh, sorry." Lily mumbled, stepping past him to sprint up the Grand Staircase, angling for the Hospital Wing.

Slowing when she reached the doors, Lily walked purposefully past the empty beds, inspecting each one. Reaching the end she turned and surveyed the empty room, her eyes scanning the empty beds hopefully. But he was nowhere to be seen. _Of course he's not_, a small voice whispered insider her head. _You know where he is._

"Stop it." She hissed through clenched teeth. "You're just being stupid." Closing her eyes, she forced herself to breathe slower, pressing a cold hand to her forehead. She walked calmly to the window looking out to the castle grounds, watching intently at the students enjoying the sweltering midday sun. Her eyes wandered lazily over a group of first years throwing stones into the lake. Scouring the rest of the grounds she found James, easily recognizable with his jet black hair, playing coolly with his stolen snitch under a large beech tree. Sirius, Remus and Peter lounging on the grass around him. After watching James play with the snitch for a minute, Lily started to search for other classmates. It was then that she saw him, a small lanky figure stalking slowly out of the Forbidden Forest, trying not to be seen. Even from this distance there was no mistaking who it was. The feeling of concern she'd tried to suppress stirred within her, mingled with curiosity and anger. She glared indignantly at him as he made his way around the deserted edge of the lake, heading for the doors to the Entrance Hall. Just before entering, he seemed to sense her gaze and turned to look intensely at the windows, scanning them for a face. Lily turned away, emotions burning within her. _He's not going to get away with this_, she decided._ And if he's not going to tell me, I'll simply have to find out myself. _


End file.
